Did you Know that Biogas…?

www.biogasin.org

Biogas Basics 03

Biogas benefits 04–07

Environmental friendly solution 04

Best agricultural practice 05

Renewable energy production 06

Socio economic issues 07

Case studies 08–21

Bulgaria 08–09

Croatia 10–11

Czech Republic 12–13

Greece 14–15

Latvia 16–17

Romania 18–19

Slovenia 20–21

Conclusions 22

Project Partners 23

Contents

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Biogas is a mixture of methane, carbon dioxide, ni-trogen, hydrogen and hydrogen sulphide. The de-sired compound is methane, but the exactcomposition of biogas varies depending upon thefeedstock material used for its production and dif-ferent parameters like temperature and acidity ofthe substrate. Biogas is produced by anaerobic di-gestion (AD) (fermentation), which means that bio-mass is converted by microorganisms to biogasunder absence of oxygen.

AD is common to many natural environments, suchas marine water sediments, or the stomach of ru-minants. AD is a biochemical process during whichorganic matter is decomposed by various microor-ganisms. These microorganisms are only able tosurvive under anaerobic and dark conditions. The-refore, AD normally takes place in digesters, whichare specially designed for this purpose. Biogas di-gesters are hermetically sealed from oxygen andlight.

After the feedstock has been filled into the digestertwo principal outputs from AD are produced: biogasand digestate.

• Biogas produced during AD is removed from thedigester and further processed. Methane is thedesired energy rich biogas component. Biogas canbe directly burnt in order to produce heat or forelectricity generation. Purified (upgraded) biogascan be used as fuel for vehicles or injected intothe natural gas grid as substitute for natural gas.

• Digestate is the biodegraded biomass, which isleft after AD. Depending on the feedstock, it haseither more liquid or more solid components. Di-gestate is an excellent fertiliser and has a consi-derable advantage compared to the originalfeedstock. Due to the treatment during AD, itsodour is significantly reduced and nutrient cha-racteristics for plant-uptake are improved, thusbeing an excellent organic fertilizer.

Generally, digesters can use many biodegradablematerials. The most common biomass categoriesused in European biogas plants are (Al Seadi et al.,2008)1: animal manure and slurry, agricultural resi-dues and by-products, digestible organic wastesfrom food and agro industries, organic fraction ofmunicipal waste and catering, sewage sludge, aswell as dedicated energy crops (e.g. maize, sorg-hum, clover).

1 Al Saedi T., Rutz D., Prassl H., Köttner M., Finsterwalder T.,Volk S., Janssen R., Biogas Handbook, October 2008

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Biogas Basics

Did you know that Biogas is …

… a greenhouse gas saving tool?… a tool for implementing best

agricultural practice?… a renewable energy carrier?… a source for regional

development and socio-economic benefits?

Environmental friendly solution

In contrast to fossil fuels, burning biogas only releases the amount of atmospheric CO2 that wasstored in the plant during its growth. Thus, the carbon cycle of biogas is closed. For that reason,utilisation of biogas reduces CO2 emissions andhelps to avoid an increase of the CO2 concentrationin the atmosphere, which helps to mitigate globalwarming. Furthermore, other greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions2, such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from untreated manure are reduced.

In general GHG saving due to biogas utilization canbe arising by:• Manure management: potential emissions

saved due to CH4 utilisation of animal manureand slurry

• Substitution effect: Emission saved due toelectricity and heat (cogeneration) productionfrom biogas

• Replacement of fossil fertilisers: Emissionsaved due to replacement of mineral fertilisers bydigestate

Livestock agriculture increases CH4 emissions fromenteric fermentation as well as CH4 and N2O emis-sions from manure management. In many countrieslarge livestock populations play an important sourceof GHG emissions.

Biogas production by AD creates digestate which isthe remaining biomass material after AD. Digestatesubstitutes untreated manure as fertiliser. Due tothe fact that digestate has even better fertiliser efficiency than untreated manure, additional mineral fertilisers can be substituted. This results inGHG savings due to reduced production of mineralfertilizers.

Biogas benefits

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2 For simplicity, all GHG emissions are converted into CO2

equivalents (CO2-eq) which is used in this document.

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Biogas benefits

Best agricultural practice

One of the main advantages of biogas productionis the ability to use biodegradable waste as a feedstock for AD. A large fraction of municipal andindustrial waste contains organic material, whichcan be used for biogas production in anaerobic digesters. This reduces the volume of waste, savesmoney and contributes to meeting national and European waste recycling regulations. Besides, excess of manure in intensive livestock breedingareas can be effectively used for biogas production.This is considered as one of the good agriculturalpractices in manure management. Furthermore, theproduced digestate contributes to compliance of aclosed nutrient cycle.

Digestate has improved fertiliser efficiency due tohomogeneity and higher nutrient availability. It isrich in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients. It can be applied on soils just like liquid manure (depending on the feedstock). Further advantages of digestate compared to manure are the reduction of odours and flies due tothe biodegradation and improved veterinariansafety, since AD removes pathogens. Waste materials have to undergo an additional controlledsanitation process.

Digestate can be used as a substitute for syntheticfertilisers. Thus, additional nutrient deployment isconstrained. This contributes to meeting EU directives, such as the EU Nitrate Directive.

Renewable energy production

Biogas is a fuel for several applications, includingelectricity, heat and transport. Efficient biogas pathways (bold arrows) are illustrated in Figure3

below.

Biogas is currently most commonly used for electri-city and/or heat production. Thereby, combinedheat and power (CHP) production is preferred to

electricity production without heat use and to onlyheat production.

Upgraded biogas is increasingly used as natural gassubstitute in natural gas grids or used as vehiclefuel.

High techtechnology

Upgraded biogas –biomethane

Raw biogas

3 Source: AEBIOM, European Biomass Association,A Biogas Roadmap for Europe, October 2009

Fuelfor cars

Injection intothe grid

Electricity andhigh heat use

Heatonly

Electricity andlittle heat use

Biogas benefits

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Socio economic issues

Biogas production has many social benefits andmost of these are related to job creation and ruraldevelopment. Especially small to medium size decentralised biogas systems may have consider -able advantages in agricultural rural regions suchas:

• The development of a biogas sector stimulatesthe establishment of new enterprises, which increases the local income and the number of jobopportunities. It also increases the economicgrowth of the area. Biogas can contribute to revitalise rural areas by making them attractivefor equipment manufacturers, investors and entrepreneurs.

• As biogas can generate electricity and heat andwork as a substitute for vehicle fuel, its utilisationcontributes to reducing the dependency on fossilfuels. It also contributes to energy diversificationand security of energy supply.

• Biogas production and utilisation influences thesocio-economic structure in rural areas. It impro-ves the social cohesion of the local population.

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Biogas benefits

The use of biogas in Bulgaria is underdeveloped despite the available resources. Biogas produced inBulgaria, mainly by urban waste water treatmentplants, is used for own and local needs and is notinjected into the existing natural gas networks, noris the electricity fed into the electrical power grid.

The Bulgarian biogas market is still at the beginning. Today, there are no agricultural biogasplants installed, even though there is huge interestfrom some farmers and investors. Organic municipaland agricultural waste are certainly very suitablefeedstock sources in Bulgaria. However, especiallythe potential for energy crops is estimated veryhigh.

The potential benefits from biogas utilisation intwenty eight regions of the BiogasIN target countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic,Greece, Latvia, Romania, and Slovenia) were investigated. The benefits include among otherslocal job creation, increases rural investment, ruraldevelopment, mitigation of greenhouse gas

emissions, decentralised produced renewable energies, reduced water and environment pollutionfrom leaching of nutrients. The results are summarised below. The methodology for the calculation of these benefits is shown in BiogasInreports available at www.biogasin.org.

In Bulgaria the biggest potential for producing biogas can be found in the North-east and South-central areas. In these areas the four BiogasIN target regions are located.

Veliko Tarnovo covers a surface of 4,662 km2.275,000 people are populated in the municipality,of which 24% are living in the city of Veliko Turnovo.

Haskovo is the largest of the four target regions,covering an area of 5,543 km2 and is populated by279,000 inhabitants. Around 34% of them are livingin the city of Haskovo.

Stara Zagora covers an area of 5,151 km2 and is populated by 389,000 people, of which 42% are living in the capital.

Jambol covers a surface of 3,336 km2. It is populated by 141,000 inhabitants, 65% of them areliving in the city of Jambol.

Case Studies

Bulgaria

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Map of Bulgaria with BiogasIN target regions

Biogas benefits in Bulgaria

According to the National Renewable Energy ActionPlan under Directive 2009/28/EC, Bulgaria’s man-datory national target for 2020 is a 16% share ofenergy from renewable sources in the gross finalconsumption of energy, including a 10% share ofenergy from renewable sources in the consumptionof energy in the transport sector. The contribution(installed capacity, gross electricity generation) ex-pected from biogas in Bulgaria to meet the binding2020 targets has been estimated at 65 MW or 357GWh (31 ktoe). Additionally, 20 ktoe is the estima-ted contribution (final energy consumption) of bio-gas for heating-cooling in 2020.

Veliko StaraPotential benefits in the target regions Turnovo Haskovo Zagora JambolPotential emission savings (ktCO2/yr) 199.5 197.8 203.6 174.6Artificial fertilizers saving (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) (t/yr) 2,957 2,882 2,900 2,918Artificial fertilizers saving (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) (/yr) 855,313 833,833 838,941 844,213Electricity production potential (in cogeneration) (GWh) 91 93 97 79Biogas energy share in national renewable targets in 2020 (%) 2.9 3.0 3.1 2.5Biogas energy share in national biogas target in 2020 (%) 4.7 4.7 5.0 4.0Installed capacity (MW) 12.2 12.5 13 10.6Number of biogas plants (installed capacity of 0.5 MW) 24 25 26 21Number of new local jobs 38-232 39-237 41-248 33-202Number of households supplied with electricity 26,293 26,648 27,923 22,716Investment (M) 38.4 39.2 40.9 33.3

Main results:

• Annual savings of about 775 kt CO2 emissions or 1.06% of the country emissions in 2008.• Contribution with 11.1% to the national renewable energy target in 2020

and with 18.4% to the national biogas target.• Total installed capacity of about 48 MW with investment costs of M 152.• About 100 new small biogas plants (0.5 MW each) creating a range of 151-919 new jobs.• Saving of about 11,657 t/yr artificial fertilizers worth of 3,372,399 /yr.• 103,580 households can be supplied with electricity produced from biogas.

Bulgaria ratified the Kyoto protocol to the UNFCCCon August 15th, 2002. The target adopted by Bul-garia is an 8% reduction compared to the base year(1988). GHG emissions inventory for 2008 showedthat the CO2 emissions amounted to 73.5 milliontones, which means a 44.6% reduction between1990 and 2008.

Biogas exploitation using 100% livestock manureavailable in the four target areas in Bulgaria cangive the following results:

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Biogas benefits

Case Studies

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Medimurje County is located in the very northernpart of Croatia. Despite being the smallest sizedcounty in Croatia, it is the most densely populatedone. 118,000 inhabitants are living in an area of 730km2. The economy of Meimurje is dynamic andfast-growing, based on a long tradition in entrepre-neurship and craft. 14% of the population of thisexport orientated region are living in rural areas.Total agricultural land covers a surface of 55,000ha. The share of crop production on arable land is60%, while 40% are used for cattle breeding(mostly pigs and poultry). Dominant crops are ce-reals, potatoes and vegetables, industrial crops andfodder.

Varazdin County is a county in northern Croatiaand covers an area of 1,261 km2. The population isabout 184,000 people. 67,000 ha of the county areoccupied by agricultural land out of which 67% arecurrently utilised.

Another important economical factor in VarazdinCounty is food processing industry. Agriculture andfood processing industry generate employment for12% of the active population. The advantages ofbiogas utilisation are considerably important for thiscounty, as it is an environmentally friendly way ofwaste management and energy recovery from or-ganic waste originated from well food processing in-dustry.

Vukovar-Syrmia County is predominantly a plainregion, which covers a surface of 2,448 km2 and ispopulated by 204,000 inhabitants. Most of the areaof Vukovar-Syrmia County is utilised agriculturally(150,000 ha) due to the fertile, black soil. The mainagricultural outcomes are wheat, maize, sugar beetand tobacco. It is the first Croatian county to havean agricultural biogas plant operating since mid2009. Some 20% of national biogas potential hasbeen attributed to this county. Available base feed-stock for biogas production are dairy cow and cattlemanure, pig slurry and, to a lesser extend, poultrymanure and slaughterhouse waste plus feedstockfrom food-processing industry and energy crops.

Osijek-Baranja County is predominantly a plainregion suitable for agricultural development cove-ring an area of 4,155 km2 and populated by 330,500inhabitants. About 258,000 ha of agricultural landare provided in the county. Cereals, industrial cropsand fodder are the dominant crops produced in thearable land. The county has one agricultural biogasplant operating since early 2010 and about onethird of Croatian future biogas locations have beenidentified here.

Croatia

Map of Croatia with BiogasIN target regions

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Biogas benefits

Biogas benefits in Croatia

Croatia is in the pre-accession period for full membership in the EU and thus also respects theobligations for 2020 of cutting greenhouse gasemissions by 20%, producing 20% of its energyfrom renewable sources and increasing energy efficiency by 20%. The contribution (gross electricity generation) expected from biogas inCroatia to meet the binding 2020 targets has beenestimated 722 GWh.

Potential benefits in the target regions Meimurje Varadin Vukovar- Osijek-Srijem Baranja

Potential emission savings (ktCO2/yr) 23.7 29.5 49.4 92.1Artificial fertilizers saving (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) (t/yr) 75 126 244 418Artificial fertilizers saving (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) (/yr) 21,786 36,377 70,622 120,857Electricity production potential (in cogeneration) (GWh) 15 19 34 55Biogas energy share in national renewable targets in 2020 (%) 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.9Biogas energy share in national biogas target in 2020 (%) 5.9 7.5 13.4 21.7Installed capacity (MW) 2.0 2.6 4.6 7.4Number of biogas plants (installed capacity of 0.5 MW) 4 5 9 15Number of new local jobs 6-38 8-48 14-87 23-140Number of households supplied with electricity 3,590 4,554 8,145 13,245Investment (M) 6.3 8.0 14.3 23.2

Main results:

• Annual savings of about 195 kt CO2 emissions or 0.6% of the country emissions in 2008.• Contribution with 2% to the national renewable energy target in 2020

and with 48.4% to the national biogas target.• Total installed capacity of about 17 MW with investment costs of M 52.• About 33 new small biogas plants (0.5 MW each) creating a range of 52-314 new jobs.• Saving of about 863 t/yr artificial fertilizers worth of 249,641 /yr.• 29,533 households can be supplied with electricity produced from biogas in CHP plants.

Croatia ratified the Kyoto protocol to the UNFCCCon May 30, 2007 (entered into force on 28 August2007). The target for Croatia is 5% reduction compared to the base year (1990). GHG emissionsinventory for 2008 showed that the CO2 emissionsamounted to 31.1 million tones, which means 0.9%reduction between the base year and 2008.

Biogas exploitation using 100% livestock manureavailable in the four target areas in Croatia can givethe following results:

Case Studies

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The Czech Republic is within the top 10 biogas producers in the European Union. 2009 the CzechRepublic produced a primary energy output frombiogas of 129.9 ktoe (kilo t oil equivalent), whichequates 441.3 GWhel. This represents the electricpower consumption of about 100,000 four-personhouseholds during one year4. The Czech Republicshows a rising tendency in energy production frombiogas plants. From 2008 to 2009, the electricityoutput from biogas utilisation rose by 65%.

South Bohemian Region is located in the south-western part of the Czech Republic. It covers anarea of 10,057 km2 and has 636,000 inhabitants, ofwhich 35% are living in rural areas. The area isactive in agriculture and fish farming.

South Moravian Region is located in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic, covering an areaof 7,195 km2. 1,147,000 people are living in SouthMoravia. Agricultural land comprises more than60% of the Region’s total area, of which 83% is arable land.

Central Bohemia Region is located in the western part of the Czech Republic, occupying asurface of 11,015 km2. It is populated by 1,230,700inhabitants. Close ties with the capital city in thegeographic centre of the region characterise itssocio-economic structure. The majority of employees are working in manufacturing sectorsand agriculture.

Moravian-Silesian Region lies in the northeastof the Czech Republic. It covers an area of5,427 km2, of which more than 50% is agriculturallyutilised land. Moravia-Silesia is the most populatedregion in the Czech Republic with more than1,250,000 inhabitants.

Czech Republic

Map of the Czech Republic with BiogasIN target regions

4 The calculation grounds on an assumed electric power consumption of 4,500 kWh/a

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Biogas benefits

The National Renewable Energy Action Plan for theCzech Republic suggests a target of a 13.5% shareof energy from renewable sources in gross finalenergy consumption and the fulfilment of a targetof a 10.8% share of energy from renewable sourcesin transport in gross final energy consumption. Thecontribution (installed capacity, gross electricity generation) expected from biogas in Czech Republicto meet the binding 2020 targets has been estimated to 417 MW or 2,871 GWh (247ktoe). Additionally, 167 ktoe is the estimated contribution(final energy consumption) of biogas for heating-cooling in 2020.

Biogas benefits in Czech Republic

Potential benefits in the target regions South South Central Moravian-Bohemia Moravia Bohemia Silesia

Potential emission savings (ktCO2/yr) 476.2 231.7 406.2 186.5Artificial fertilizers saving (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) (t/yr) 13,069 7,516 12,209 5,183Artificial fertilizers saving (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) (/yr) 3,780,622 2,174,092 3,531,745 1,499,337Electricity production potential (in cogeneration) (GWh) 255 118 213 100Biogas energy share in national renewable targets in 2020 (%) 2.3 1.1 2.0 0.9Biogas energy share in national biogas target in 2020 (%) 25.4 11.7 21.2 9.9Installed capacity (MW) 34.2 15.8 28.6 13.4Number of biogas plants (installed capacity of 0.5 MW) 68 32 57 27Number of new local jobs 107-651 50-301 89-544 42-255Number of households supplied with electricity 74,959 34,583 62,558 29,364Investment (M) 107.5 49.8 89.8 42.2

Main results:

• Annual savings of about 1,300 kt CO2 emissions or 0.92% of the country emissions in 2008.• Contribution with 6.3% to the national renewable energy target in 2020

and with 68.2% to the national biogas target.• Total installed capacity of about 92 MW with investment costs of M 289.• About 184 new small biogas plants (0.5 MW each) creating a range of 288-1,750 new jobs.• Saving of about 37,976 t/yr artificial fertilizers worth of 10,985,796 /yr.• 201,464 households can be supplied with electricity produced from biogas.

Czech Republic ratified the Kyoto protocol to theUNFCCC on November 15, 2001 (entered into forceon 16 February 2005). The target for Czech Republic is 8% reduction compared to the baseyear. GHG emissions inventory for 2008 showed thatthe CO2 emissions amounted to 141.4 million tones,which means 27.2% reduction between the baseyear and 2008.

Biogas exploitation using 100% livestock manureavailable in the four target areas in Czech Republiccan give the following results:

Case Studies

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Greece is located to the south-eastern edge ofEurope, occupies an area of 132,000 km2 and has apopulation of 10.96 million according to the 2001census (66% of which live in urban areas).

Greece has a developing biogas market. The theoretical biogas potential is very high especiallyof organic wastes and animal manure. The utilisation of biogas in most of the existing biogasplants, cover mainly heat demands of the plants Forthe year 2008 the installed capacity of electricity generation from biogas was 39.4 MW (40.8 MW inDecember 2010) and the gross electricity generation reached to 176.7 GWh [Hellenic Transmission System Operator].

Larissa covers a surface of 5,381 km2 and is populated by 279,300 inhabitants. The area is themost important agricultural region in Greece with3,472 km2 agriculturally used land. Livestock -farming plays an important role in Larissa, too.

Aetolia-Acarnania occupies an area 5,461 km2.The population of the Prefecture is 223,000 inhabi-tants. Aetolia-Acanarnia is a mountainous area, asonly 20% of its surface is in a plain. However, 2,121km2 are used agriculturally, producing both, cropsas well as livestock products.

Preveza is the smallest of the four Greece target regions, covering a surface of 1,036 km2. It is populated by 19,000 inhabitants. Only 33% of itstotal area is in a plain. 306 km2 of the total area ofPreveza are used agriculturally. Additionally livestock farming is an important economical factorin this region.

Evia is the second largest island and has a total extend of 4,167 km2. The population of the sectionis 215,000 inhabitants, of which 41% are living inrural areas. Evia provides 1,707 km2 agriculturalareas. The main form of farming represents the extensive sheep breeding in the mountainous regions.

Greece

Map of Greece with BiogasIN target regions

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Biogas benefits

Biogas benefits in Greece

The National targets for RES until the end of 2020,based on Directive 2009/28/EC, are set as follows:a) contribution of the energy produced from RES

to the gross final energy consumption by 20%,b) contribution of the electricity produced from RES

to the gross electricity consumption to a shareof at least 40%. According to the Ministry of En-vironment decision (./1/.19598, October2010) the desired installed capacity of biomasswas set to 350 MW.

c) Contribution of the energy produced by RES tothe final energy consumption for heating andcooling to a share of at least 20%.

Potential benefits in the target regions Larissa Aitoloa- Preveza Eviakarnania

Potential emission savings (ktCO2/yr) 190.8 237.8 99.1 60.1Artificial fertilizers saving (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) (t/yr) 13,963 18,346 4,501 7,220Artificial fertilizers saving (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) (/yr) 4,039,165 5,307,186 1,302,169 2,088,714Electricity production potential (in cogeneration) (GWh) 70 84 35 17Biogas energy share in national renewable targets in 2020 (%) 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1Biogas energy share in national biogas target in 2020 (%) 1.0 1.2 0.5 0.3Installed capacity (MW) 9.4 11.3 4.7 2.3Number of biogas plants (installed capacity of 0.5 MW) 19 23 9 5Number of new local jobs 29-179 35-214 15-89 7-43Number of households supplied with electricity 16,340 19,638 8,122 3,961Investment (M) 29.5 35.4 14.9 7.2

Main results:

• Annual savings of about 588 kt CO2 emissions or 0.92% of the country emissions in 2008.• Contribution with 0.8% to the national renewable energy target in 2020 and with 3% to the national

biomass/biogas target. The theoretical electricity generation in the selected areas can covermore than 70% of the biogas target for 2020 (895 GWh).

• Total installed capacity of about 28 MW with investment costs of M 87.• About 55 new small biogas plants (0.5 MW each) creating a range of 87-526 new jobs. • Saving of about 44,031 t/yr artificial fertilizers worth of 12,737,233 /yr.• 48,061 households can be supplied with electricity produced from biogas.

According to the provisions of the National Renew -able Energy Action Plan the estimation of total contribution in electricity (installed capacity, grosselectricity generation) expected from biogas to meetthe binding 2020 targets is 210 MW and 895 GWh.Greece ratified the Kyoto protocol to the UNFCCCon May 31, 2002 (entered into force on 16 February2005). The target for Greece is 25% increase compared to the base year. GHG emissions inven-tory for 2008 showed that the CO2 emissionsamounted to 126.9 million tones, which means20.34% increase between the base year and 2008.

Biogas exploitation using 100% livestock manureavailable in the four target areas in Greece can givethe following results:

Case Studies

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The Latvian biogas sector only provides little energyper inhabitant compared to other European coun-tries. The primary biogas energy production in 2009was 4.3 toe (t oil equivalent) per 1,000 inhabitants(compared to 51.5 toe per 1,000 inhabitants in Ger-many). Thus, the overall energy output from biogasin Latvia is 9.7 ktoe, or 45.0 GWhel. However, thisis an increase of 16.6% compared to 2008. 45.0GWh electricity equates the annual consumption of10,000 four-person households5.

Valmiera Region covers a surface of 2,373 km2

and it is populated by 57,583 inhabitants. About37% of the territory is covered by agricultural land.The main economical activity in the region is agricultural production, while industrial and serviceactivities are more concentrated in Valmiera city.

Madona Region is the second biggest region inLatvia and covers an area of 3,349 km2, populatedby 41,662 inhabitants. 37% of the territory is usedagriculturally. The main economical activities in theregion are forestry, wood processing, agriculture,tourism and trading.

Gulbene Region is one of the smallest regions inLatvia, providing an area of 1,873 km2. It is populated by 25,496 inhabitants and agriculturalareas cover 35% of the surface. The main economical activities in Gulbene region are relatedto agriculture, forestry and wood processing.

Aluksne Region occupies a surface of 2,243 km2

and it is populated by 23,926 inhabitants. 29% ofthe region is covered by agricultural areas. Themain economical activities in Aluksne region are related to agriculture, trade and wood processing.

Latvia

Map of Latvia with BiogasIN target regions

5 The calculation grounds on an assumed electric power consumption of 4,500 kWh/a.

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Biogas benefits

Biogas benefits in Latvia

According to the National Energy Action Plan, underDirective 2009/28/EC, Latvia’s RES targets up to2020 is: 1) by 2020, the share of renewable energyin total gross final energy consumption to be increa-sed to at least 40% and to increase it gradually the-reafter; 2) by 2020, the share of renewable energyin the transport sector must reach at least 10% ofgross final energy consumption for transport and toincrease it gradually thereafter. The contribution (in-stalled capacity, gross electricity generation) ex-pected from biogas in Latvia to meet the binding2020 targets has been estimated to 92 MW or 584GWh (50 ktoe). Additionally, 49 ktoe is the estima-ted contribution (final energy consumption) of bio-gas for heating-cooling in 2020.

Potential benefits in the target regions Valmiera Madona Gulbene AlksnePotential emission savings (ktCO2/yr) 15.6 15.4 8.7 7.1Artificial fertilizers saving (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) (t/yr) 764 774 445 368Artificial fertilizers saving (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) (/yr) 220,948 223,962 128,739 106,588Electricity production potential (in cogeneration) (GWh) 24 25 14 12Biogas energy share in national renewable targets in 2020 (%) 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.2Biogas energy share in national biogas target in 2020 (%) 13.3 13.6 7.7 6.5Installed capacity (MW) 3.2 3.4 1.9 1.6Number of biogas plants (installed capacity of 0.5 MW) 6 7 4 3Number of new local jobs 10-61 11-64 6-36 5-31Number of households supplied with 10,272 10,509 5,970 5,000Investment (M) 10.1 10.5 5.9 5.1

Main results:

• Annual savings of about 47 kt CO2 emissions or 0.4% of the country emissions in 2008.• Contribution with 1.1% to the national renewable energy target in 2020

and with 41.1% to the national biogas target.• Total installed capacity of about 10 MW with investment costs of M 32.• About 20 new small biogas plants (0.5 MW each) creating a range of 32-191 new jobs.• Saving of about 2,351 t/yr artificial fertilizers worth of 680,237 /yr.• 31,751 households can be supplied with electricity produced from biogas.

Latvia ratified the Kyoto protocol to the UNFCCC onMay 30, 2002 (entered into force on 16 February2005). The target for Latvia is 8% reduction com-pared to the base year. GHG emissions inventory for2008 showed that the CO2 emissions amounted to11.9 million tones, which means 54.1% reductionbetween the base year and 2008.

Biogas exploitation using 100% livestock manureavailable in the four target areas in Latvia can givethe following results:

Case Studies

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Romania represents one of the weakest biogas mar-kets in the European Union. However, it shows a ri-sing tendency. The amount of primary energyproduced by Romanian biogas plants more thandoubled between 2008 and 2009. In 2009, theenergy produced by biogas plants equated 1.3 ktoe,which stands for an electric energy output of 1.0GWhel.

Buzau County is located in the western part ofSouth Romania. It occupies a surface of 6,103 km2

and is populated by 488,763 inhabitants, of which59% are living in the rural areas (most of the employed population is working in agriculture). Thecounty is characterised by isolated complex industrial centres and vast cropping and vine areas.

Vrancea County is located north from BuzauCounty and occupies a surface of 4,857 km2. It ispopulated by 392,619 inhabitants, of which 62%are living in the rural areas (about 49% of the employed population working in agriculture). Thecounty provides vast cropping and vine areas.

Giurgiu County is located in the southern part ofRomania, occupying an area of 3,526 km2. It is populated by 283,408 inhabitants, 69% of which inthe rural areas (about 58% of the employed population working in agriculture). The surface consists entirely of plain. The southern part of Giurgiu County has access to the Danube.

Teleorman County covers a surface of 5,790 km2

and a population of 413,064 inhabitants. 66% ofthe people in this county are living in the rural areas(about 59% of the employed population working inagriculture). The surface of Teleorman County consists entirely of plain. To the south it is borderedby the Danube.

Romania

Map of Romania with BiogasIN target regions

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Biogas benefits

Biogas benefits in Romania

According to the National Energy Action Plan, underDirective 2009/28/EC, Romania’s target by 2020 isthe share of renewable energy in total gross finalenergy consumption to be increased to 24%. Thecontribution (installed capacity, gross electricity ge-neration) expected from biogas in Romania to meetthe binding 2020 targets has been estimated to 195MW or 950 GWh (82 ktoe).

Potential benefits in the target regions Buzau Vrancea Giurgiu TeleormanPotential emission savings (ktCO2/yr) 330.3 217.4 194.7 316.7Artificial fertilizers saving (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) (t/yr) 8,540 5,782 4,716 8,027Artificial fertilizers saving (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) (/yr) 2,470,560 1,672,750 1,364,176 2,322,030Electricity production potential (in cogeneration) (GWh) 212 140 124 202Biogas energy share in national renewable targets in 2020 (%) 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3Biogas energy share in national biogas target in 2020 (%) 4.4 2.9 2.5 4.2Installed capacity (MW) 28.5 18.8 16.7 27.1Number of biogas plants (installed capacity of 0.5 MW) 57 38 33 54Number of new local jobs 89-541 59-357 52-316 85-515Number of households supplied with electricity 150,595 99,640 87,989 143,347Investment (M) 89.4 59.0 52.3 85.2

Main results:

• Annual savings of about 1,059 kt CO2 emissions or 0.73% of the country emissions in 2008.• Contribution with 1.1% to the national renewable energy target in 2020

and with 14.0% to the national biogas target.• Total installed capacity of about 91 MW with investment costs of M 286.• About 182 new small biogas plants (0.5 MW each) creating a range of 285-1,730 new jobs.• Saving of about 27,066 t/yr artificial fertilizers worth of 7,829,517 /yr.• 481,572 households can be supplied with electricity produced from biogas.

Romania ratified the Kyoto protocol to the UNFCCCon March 19, 2001 (entered into force on16 Febru-ary 2005). The target for Romania is 8% reductioncompared to the base year. GHG emissions inven-tory for 2008 showed that the CO2 emissionsamounted to 145.9 million tones, which means47.6% reduction between the base year and 2008.

Biogas exploitation using 100% livestock manureavailable in the four target areas in Romania cangive the following results:

Case Studies

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The primary energy output from biogas in Sloveniarose by 59% between 2008 and 2009. This is a considerable strong increase, which lead to anelectric power generation from biogas utilisation of68.8 GWhel in 2009. This amount of electric energycovers the annual consumption of more than15,000 four-person households .

Pomurska region in the north eastern part of Slovenia covers a surface of 1,337 km2 and residues123,500 inhabitants. It is predominately an agricultural region with field crops representing over of the total utilized agricultural area, twice asmuch as the Slovene average. However, its geographical position and inferior infrastructure influence the region’s economic power negatively.

Savinjska region, named after the Savinja River,stretches along the valley that lies to the east ofcentral Slovenia. 260,000 inhabitants live in this region, covering an area of 2,384 km2. Forests coveralmost 57% of the region’s surface, while 40% or70,000 ha are used agriculturally. The main agricultural product is cereals for the production ofgrains and forage. Farming is dominated by mixedlivestock and pasture livestock farming.

Gorenjska region, which is almost entirely alpine,measures 2,137 km2 and is populated by 203,000inhabitants. 26% of the surface of the region consists of agricultural land, which is characterizedboth by its developed livestock and forests exploitation. Furthermore, Gorenjska region is oneof the most economically developed regions of Slovenia with a strong and diversified industry, handicrafts and tourism.

Spodnjeposavska region is the smallest of thefour target regions with an area of 1,031 km2 and78,400 people living in it. Thanks to the favorablenatural conditions for agricultural activity this regionstill characterizes as rural. The primary agriculturalsector is livestock farming. Spodnjeposavska provides the largest share of electricity productionof all Slovenian regions. This is in the first place dueto the only Slovenian nuclear power plant, locatedhere.

Slovenia

Map of Slovenia with BiogasIN target regions

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Biogas benefits

Biogas benefits in Slovenia

According to the National Energy Action Plan, underDirective 2009/28/EC, Slovenia’s target by 2020 isthe share of renewable energy in total gross finalenergy consumption to be increased to 25%. Thecontribution (installed capacity, gross electricity ge-neration) expected from biogas in Slovenia to meetthe binding 2020 targets has been estimated to 61MW or 367 GWh (32 ktoe).

Potential benefits in the target regions Pomurska Savinjska Gorenjska Spodnje-posavska

Potential emission savings (ktCO2/yr) 175.0 251.5 98.7 53.7Artificial fertilizers saving (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) (t/yr) 5,569 3,444 1,521 1,242Artificial fertilizers saving (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) (/yr) 1,610,905 996,350 440,048 359,324Electricity production potential (in cogeneration) (GWh) 58 114 62 27Biogas energy share in national renewable targets in 2020 (%) 1.2 2.3 1.2 0.5Biogas energy share in national biogas target in 2020 (%) 12.2 23.9 13.0 5.7Installed capacity (MW) 7.8 15.3 8.3 3.6Number of biogas plants (installed capacity of 0.5 MW) 16 31 17 7Number of new local jobs 24-148 48-291 26-158 11-69Number of households supplied with electricity 13,445 26,285 14,279 6,269Investment (M) 24.5 48.1 26.1 11.4

Main results:

• Annual savings of about 579 kt CO2 emissions or 2.72% of the country emissions in 2008.• Contribution with 1.3% to the national renewable energy target in 2020

and with 5.2% to the national biogas target.• Total installed capacity of about 35 MW with investment costs of M 110• About 70 new small biogas plants (0.5 MW each) creating a range of 110-666 new jobs.• Saving of about 11,776 t/yr artificial fertilizers worth of 3,406,627 /yr.• 60,277 households can be supplied with electricity produced from biogas.

Slovenia ratified the Kyoto protocol to the UNFCCCon August 2, 2002 (entered into force on 16 Febru-ary 2005). The target for Slovenia is 8% reductioncompared to the base year. GHG emissions inven-tory for 2008 showed that the CO2 emissionsamounted to 21.3 million tones, which means 4.6%increase between the base year and 2008.

Biogas exploitation using 100% livestock manureavailable in the four target areas in Slovenia cangive the following results:

The EU has set a series of demanding climate andenergy targets to be met by 2020, known as the"20-20-20" targets. These are:• a reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions of at

least 20% below 1990 levels,• 20% of EU energy consumption to come from

renewable resources,• 20% reduction in primary energy use compared

with projected levels, to be achieved by improvingenergy efficiency.

According to the latest Summary EU GHG inventoryreport of 2010, total GHG emissions, without LULUCF (Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry),in the EU-27 decreased by 11.3% between 1990and 2008 (627 million tonnes CO2-eq). Emissionsdecreased by 2.0% (– 99 million tonnes CO2-eq)between 2007 and 2008. Emissions in 2008 for theEU-27 were 12.3% lower than emissions of 1990.The overall greenhouse gas emissions in CO2-eq(excl. LULUCF) in 2008 amounted 4,939.7 milliontones.

Renewable energy sources will play a crucial role tomeet the EU binding 2020 targets and biogas is oneof them. All target countries and regions have a significant GHG emission savings. According to BiogasIN assessment about 4,543.14 kt CO2 eq canbe saved, which represents the 0.8% of the totalGHG emissions of the BiogasIN target countries forthe year 2008.

In 2009, 8.3 Mtoe of primary energy produced inthe EU from biogas and 25.2 TWh of electricity (Eurobserv’er, 2010). In the 28 target regions 0.883Mtoe of primary energy can be produced by biogasand the electricity generation from the biogas theoretical potential (using 100% livestock manurein a CHP plant) amounted to 2,389 GWh or 9.5%of the electricity generation in 2008 in the EU.

Biogas projects have high investment costs and therevenue comes mainly from the pricing tariff systemfor electricity production for RES. The theoreticaltotal installed capacity was assessed about 321 MWand the investment would be about one billionEuros.

Digestate has improved fertiliser efficiency due tohomogeneity and higher nutrient availability. Utilization of digestate as fertilizer can replace theuse of mineral fertilizes and has at least economicand environmental dimension. In the 28 selectedregions of BiogasIN establishing the best agricul -tural practice for manure management (Nitrate Directive) result in artificial fertilizers savings of135,721 t/yr (Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) worth ofabout 39 million Euro per year.

In the case of small farm scale plants the part timeemployment of the farmer can give benefits and parallel new income opportunities. The implemen-tation of biogas plants can increase direct or indirectthe jobs during the all project phases and lifetimeand for the needs of BiogasIN projects it was assessed that about 640 new small biogas plants(0.5 MW each) can be established in the selectedareas creating a range of about 1,000 - 6,100 newjobs.

According to the German Biogas Association (Fach-verband Biogas e.V.) and Eurobserv’er, the biogassector in Germany has created about 17,000 jobs in2010. Today, there are around 6,000 biogas facilitiesinstalled in the German countryside. Also centraland Eastern European countries, with still substan-tial agriculture sectors, can benefit from biogas development as it contributes direct to rural incomegeneration.

Conclusions

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Welcome to the BiogasIN project

BiogasIN aims to create a sustainable biogas market in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE):Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Latvia, Romania, and Slovenia, by:• Highlighting biogas benefits for local communities• Streamlining permitting procedures for biogas investments• Adjusting and creating new financing schemes for biogas investments

Expected results from the project will be increased biogas investment activitiesin the target countries and beyond.

Project Partners

WIP Renewable Energies (WIP), Germany

European Biogas Association (EBA), Belgium

Fraunhofer (IWES), Germany

Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Savings (CRES), Greece

Czech Biogas Association (CzBA), Czech Republic

EKODOMA, Latvia

Energoproekt, JSC (ENPRO), Bulgaria

Razvojna agencija Sinergija, Slovenia

Trinergi Grup (TG), Romania

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Project Partners

www.biogasin.org

www.biogasin.org

This brochure “Did you know that Biogas …?” is a deliverable(D2.7) of the BiogasIN project (Sustainable biogas market development in Central and Eastern Europe; Contract No.IEE/09/848). BiogasIN started in May 2010, runs for 30 monthand is supported by the Intelligent Energy – Europe (IEE) programme.

This brochure is edited by CRES and WIP with input of and incooperation with the BiogasIN project partners.

The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies withthe authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Communities.The European Commission is not responsible for any use thatmay be made of the information contained herein.

Co-ordinatorEnergy Institute Hrvoje PozarSavska cesta 163 Zagreb, Croatiawww.eihp.hr

ContactBiljana Kulisic bkulisic@eihp.hrTel: +385 1 6326 269Fax: +385 1 6040 599